Stretching the Truth
by thepencilunleashed
Summary: Dipper and Starlit are unlikely friends; meeting via bike crash, it wasn't anyone's guess that they would become as close as they are now. But just like the town they both live in, they're not as innocent as they seem. What is Starlit's background? How does Dipper really feel? And will their own secrets ruin their 'friendship?
1. Chapter 1: A Bike Crash

Stretching the Truth

A Fanfiction by thepencilunleashed

I do not own Gravity Falls or the awesome cover art for the story :)

It was a late morning at the Mystery Shack. Soos was dusting the living room with a fancy old feather duster that was ironically dustier than the furniture around it. Wendy was sitting behind the cash register, waiting for customers and brushing her shiny orange hair. Stan was reading the morning newspaper, which headlined a huge sale at the local shoe store. _Yawn!_

Mabel and Dipper were sitting at the breakfast table. Mabel was still in her purple nightdress, which featured a yellow happy face with its tongue sticking out. Her hair was loose down her back and she was munching down on a bowl of Cheap-O's cereal. Her pet pig, Waddles, was waiting eagerly beside her chair, waiting for any fallen bits of food.

Dipper was sitting across from Mabel, fully dressed, but with his hat still upstairs. He'd also been served a bowl of Cheap-O's, but he was ignoring it and instead pursuing the everlasting paranormal knowledge hidden in the strange book he'd come to own, titled "3". The author was unknown. Right now, he was on page 23, reading about some strange creature called the Warawalf (Pronounced wAr-uh-wAlf).

_On my journeys, I came across many strange creatures, one of them being the Warawalf. This creature appears to be an enormous wolf, some being taller than myself. The colors of the fur come to vary, from brown to white to black, and their eyes seem to glow slightly in the night like a pair of firefl-_

"Hey, Dipper, what are you reading?" Grunkle Stan suddenly asked, which gave Dipper such a fright that he ended up jumping violently and dropping the book onto the floor with a small slam that luckily attracted no further attention.

"Oh, nothing, Grunkle Stan." Dipper nonchalantly looked under the eyes of his great uncle, who was sluggishly peering at him from behind the newspaper, while he tried to push the book under his chair to serve as a better hiding spot. Luckily, Grunkle Stan was too lazy to question the slam, and he simply said, "OK, well, keep doin' whatever you're doin'" before retreating back behind his newspaper.

_Whew_. Dipper let out a silent breath of relief and actually began to eat his Cheap-O's, while keeping his toes on top of the book to prevent any snatching.

"Dipper!" Mabel leaned closer to Dipper as Stan left the room with his paper. Cupping her hand over her mouth, she whispered, "Are you reading that journal thing?"

So Mabel _had_ taken notice. "Yeah, Mabel." She already knew about the books, so it was OK to talk to her about them.

"What are you reading about?" She asked, sitting back in her seat but continuing the whisper. She took another spoonful of Cheap-O's and tossed one of the O's to Waddles, who caught it in midair.

"I'm reading about some weird animal called a Warawalf. I've never seen one before, and for some reason there's no picture or even a sketch of one in here." Dipper gestured lightly to the journal that was stowed underneath his chair.

"That's weird. He always puts pictures or stuff in the books." Mabel drank the milk from her bowl of Cheap-O's and placed the bowl and its dregs in the sink, and Dipper did the same.

Before they were even seated at the table again, Grunkle Stan called from the living room, "Hey, kids! We're all out of soda in here. Can one of you guys go pick some up?"

"I'll do it, Grunkle Stan." Dipper volunteered. Mabel was meeting her friends at the mall today, and besides, Dipper needed to get some fresh air. So once he was dressed and his hair was brushed he soon found himself speeding down the empty black roads of Gravity Falls, with shops beckoning him from either side.

"Isn't the convenience store just down a little further?" Dipper asked himself. "Definitely not the haunted one, but I mean the SevLev they have here." Sometimes, when Dipper talked aloud to himself, it helped him think.

The bike was humming underneath him as Dipper pedaled faster and gained speed. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed another kid steer over to ride behind Dipper, and he sped up even quicker as to not be bumped from behind.

The bike was going even faster now, and it was becoming a little difficult to see which store would be the convenience store.

_Whum whum whum whum_. The bike made whizzing sounds of pleasure as the wheels grazed the cracked pavement. In the hot day, the handlebars began to grow warm, and sweat began to pool in the warm padding of Dipper's bicycle helmet.

Dipper was just reaching up to wipe the sweat off his forehead, confident that he could steer with just one hand for a few seconds, when he spotted it; the SevLev convenience store, open twelve hours a day. Dipper was so surprised that his other hand momentarily shot upwards from the handlebars, and the loose bike began to wobble.

Fear tied a knot in his stomach, and Dipper quickly snatched the handlebars of his bike and tried for a sudden U-turn to reach the SevLev he had passed while he was trying to get control of his bike. Just as Dipper thought he would be able to turn and make it, a flash of dark blue swerved in directly in front of him; it was the kid who was riding the other bike.

_WHAM!_ The collision sent Dipper flying off his toppling bike and flying across the pavement. His head slammed into the pavement with a heavy thunk, but luckily the bicycle helmet was able to save him. However, he felt a horrible scraping sensation above his right elbow and on his right cheek as he slid a little ways across the pavement.

"Ugh..." Dipper forced his fearful eyes open, and he sat up abruptly. The few townspeople who were walking down the street had turned to watch the collision, but none coming to help him.

"I-it's OK, guys, I can handle this." Dipper stuttered, which was not true. There was now a pinpricking sort-of feeling on the badly scratched part of his elbow, and his cheek felt mauled, like it was bleeding. The townspeople just took Dipper's word for it, though, and began to browse the many tourist traps in the vicinity.

Dipper managed to make it to his sightly shaking feet, where he noticed that his cheap red bike had scratches and paint chips all over it. Great.

The other kid who had collided with Dipper didn't have it so easy. His or her bike seemed to have a hole in the front tire from the collision, and the paint chips and scratched on the midnight blue paint seemed to be much more permanent.

_The other kid!_ The thought suddenly sprang into Dipper's mind when he saw a body on its hand and knees, taking deep breaths and trying to recover.

"I-I'm so sorry! Are you OK?" Dipper hopped over the two collided bikes and knelt beside the kid, who was still taking deep breaths. A minute later, the kid mumbled something unintelligible.

"Huh? Sorry, I didn't catch that." Dipper said in a kind voice.

The kid sighed and replied, "I said I'm-" But the kid stopped mid sentence as soon as he/she looked up.

It was a girl, and by the looks of it, she was Dipper's age. She had blonde hair that was in a ponytail, stuffed under her bicycle helmet. Her hair had two streaks on the left side of her hair, blue and purple, and they began at the front left of her hair and seemed to snake all the way down to the bottom of her ponytail. The girl's skin was a light peach color, and she was wearing a light blue T-Shirt with an owl on it and blue jeans.

The girl stared at Dipper for a minute in uncomfortable silence before narrowing her eyes. Dipper barely had time to be alarmed before she abruptly turned around, carted her bike towards the SevLev, put it in the bike rack along with her bicycle helmet, and walked inside the SevLev.

"Wait up!" Dipper shoved his own bike inside in the bike rack and rushed inside the SevLev. "At least let me help!" Yet Dipper could no longer see the girl through the aisles of cheap merchandise.

"You've already said sorry." And then there she was, emerging from behind one of the shelves. "Why do you keep following me?"

The answer was obvious to Dipper. "I'm the one who caused the collision, so I want to help you get your bike fixed. It's just a simple favor." He stuffed his hands in his pockets nervously.

"You don't need to do anything." The girls' tone softened slightly.

"At least let me take it to the repair shop, I mean, come on! I'm just trying to help!" Dipper tried to stay calm.

"Dude, I don't even know you." The girl stuffed her hands in her pockets and gave Dipper a Robbie-like glare.

"Call me Dipper." He almost became embarrassed at his own nickname.

The girl raised her eyebrows. "Dipper?"

"Yeah, it's a funny story how I got the nickname, actually." Dipper let out a nervous laugh.

For the first time, the girl grinned. "My name's Starlit. Star l-i-t. It's a terrible name, I know. I mean, the name Starlet is terrible even when it's spelled correctly, but Star l-i-t, come on!" Then, Starlit laughed, which eased the tension in the atmosphere.

"Well, I guess we've both got something in common, then." Dipper smiled.

"So, why're you here at the SevLev?" The girl reached up, trying to smooth down her helmet hair.

"My great uncle sent me out to get some soda." Dipper plainly replied.

Starlit squinted. "In this heat?"

"Yeah. It wasn't this hot when I left, though." That was a complete lie.

Looking around her, Starlit found the freezer section of the store, opened it, and grabbed a case of Pitt soda.

"This kind?" Starlit struggled to hold up the heavy case of soda.

"Yeah, that's actually his favorite. Let me pay for it real quick." Seeing that the man at the register was asleep, Dipper simply placed the cash on the front desk and walked over to help Starlit carry the case. As the two kids struggled towards the door, Starlit asked, "How are you going to get this to your place if our bikes won't work?"

"Oh, yeah..." Starlit and Dipper placed the case on the ground for a quick rest, and sat on either side of it.

"Since my bike is busted, I'll have to carry the case home on foot." Dipper reluctantly said what had been going through his mind.

Starlit wiped the sweat off her forehead. "That's not going to be easy." Dipper simply shook his sweaty head.

"I'll...I'll help you carry it home, if you want." Starlit offered.

Dipper turned his head to look at Starlit, who was brushing her hair behind her ear.

"Sure, if you want to." Dipper was grateful for the extra help.

"Want to get going now?" Starlit asked.

"Yeah, sure." So they both sat up, grabbing either side of the case of soda, and hoisted it into the air. The joints in their bones began to complain from the weight, but the two kids ignored it. So then, they began the long journey back to the Mystery Shack.

**Who is this new girl? Why are her parents horrible at picking baby names? Why is Grunkle Stan so inconsiderate? And WHY IN THE WORLD am I talking in questions? **

**Just messing around. Probably going to continue this if the reception is good.**


	2. Chapter 2: Starlit Shines

Silly me, I forgot to put down a chapter name in the previous chapter! Just pretend this is a totally legit Chapter Two. Also, this takes place in Season One after the episode "Little Dipper".

Chapter Two:

Starlit Shines

When Dipper and Starlit finally reached the Mystery Shack, the joints in their bones were on fire. Instead of going inside the shack, they plopped the case down at the front doorstep and sat on the stairs to take a break.

"Ohhh..." Starlit closed her eyes and let her arms quiver.

"That hurt." Dipper concluded, trying to steady his arms.

"No kidding." Startlit moaned. "And we still have to go back for the bikes."

Dipper moaned in response, and at the moment Mabel decided to come outside, wearing a red, white and blue sweater an eagle on it.

"Hey, Dipper, what's up?" She slammed the door open and hit the case of soda, causing the case to tip over violently.

"No!" Dipper and Starlit called. They both rushed towards the case and, despite their aching muscles, they lifted the case back up before any sodas could be spilled. In his panic, Dipper grabbed a soda from the inside and tried to open it to see if it was OK, but as soon as he cracked the lid...

_Fssshhhhhh! _Mabel gasped and Starlit tried to conceal her laughter as the soda sprayed all over Dipper's face and shirt. Dipper just stood there, taking it all in.

"Whoa." Mabel tried not to laugh. "Dipper, I'm...sorry..." Mabel lost it and began to laugh, and Starlit joined in, not being able to resist the temptation.

Dipper flushed red and dropped the soda in his hand. "Hey, stop it!" It was a weak protest, but it was something. The girls both tried to conceal their laughter, although they still smiled. Then, Mabel realized that a random person was on her doorstep.

"Um...Dipper? Who's this girl?" Dipper could tell by the look in her eyes that she had jumped to her own conclusion already.

"My name's Starlit Shines. I helped Dipper carry some soda home from the convenience store." Starlit casually stuck her hands in her pockets.

"Oh. I'm Mabel, Dipper's sister. Why didn't you guys just carry the case home on your bikes?" Of course, Dipper and Starlit had been foolish to think that the bike crash would remain between the two of them.

"Um..." Dipper hesitated.

"We were..." Starlit's cheeks grew red.

"Our bikes crashed. In the road." Dipper managed to force the sentence out.

Mabel held back her laughter. "I'm sorry, I...I need a moment." She ran inside the shack and could be heard laughing from the outside, leaving Dipper and Starlit in an awkward silence.

Starlit lowered her head to the ground. "Do you need to change you clothes? You got soda on them..." She pointed to Dipper's clothes, which were dripping Pitt.

"Yeah. I probably should change before it gets all sticky." It was a little too late for that, though.

Starlit turned and looked at the shack, which was adorned with stickers and license plates and strange décor on the outside walls. "You live here?" She asked.

"Yeah. It's my Grunkle's tourist trap."

Starlit turned her head.

"Erm, Great Uncle."

"Oh." She went back to looking at the decorations. She even stood on tiptoe to look through the window of the door. It was a bit nosy, yes, but Dipper didn't mind.

"...Your Great Uncle has some weird stuff in here." She concluded, still looking through the window.

Dipper's heart leapt. It always did whenever he sensed a chance to talk about the supernatural.

"I know. He makes all these fake attractions and says that he's found them in this town." Dipper took a breath. "I kind of believe that there are strange things in this town, too, but not things like that.

"Yeah, I know." Starlit stepped down from the window.

Dipper was taken aback. "What? You actually..._agree_ with me?"

"Well, duh. You're not the only one who sees strange things in this town." At that moment, the door swung open, and Mabel came back out, clutching her belly.

"-comedy gold...Oh...sorry, guys!" Mabel wiped a tear from her eye and straightened her spine. "It's just...you know." She finally conformed herself. "So, Starlit, where you from?"

"I was born and raised here in Gravity Falls."

"Really?"

Starlit grinned. "Yep."

The bells went off in Dipper's mind. _Ding ding ding!_

"You must know a lot about this town, then." Dipper interrupted.

"Ahuh. I've seen a lot of strange things, from the heart-wrenchingly adorable to the pants-peeingly terrifying." She said it so casually that you'd think she was crazy.

"I've been trying to investigate the forest for forever! What have you seen?" Dipper's heart was racing.

"Please excuse my brother, Star, he's very...eccentric." Mabel tried for a casual laugh and shot a look at Dipper.

"It's OK, I'm fine with explaining. I've actually wanted to share what I've found for awhile. I wrote it all down in this little notebook I found. We can check it out tomorrow if you want." Starlit offered.

"Y-yes! Sure! When can I come over?" Dipper had no idea how excited he sounded.

"How about noon?"

"Sure!"  
"Alright, I better be getting home now. See ya." And with that, she began to walk away.

**Hey, guys, this is thepencilunleashed. I'm sorry for the length of this chapter, I'm so busy getting ready for school. I only have one more day left until it starts again! Don't worry...there's a little easter egg thingie in this chapter for you guys. Its a hint to something special about Starlit. Can you find it? _ :D**


	3. Chapter 3: Someone Who Cared

Chapter Three:

Someone Who Cared

Dipper and Mabel sat down at the table, eating grilled cheese sandwiches. It was similar to the scene from yesterday morning's breakfast.

Mabel was taking her time with Lunch, (Her sweater today featured a rasta orange saying, "Orange you happy, mon?" from her favorite sticker.) She was picking off the crusts and feeding them to Waddles, but Dipper was quickly trying to down all his food.

"Slow down, Dipper! You're going to get a headache or something!" Mabel advised him, taking a bite of her own sandwich.

Dipper gulped down another bite and swallowed. "Sorry, Mabel, but I've gotta hurry so I'm not late for-"

"Your _date_?" Mabel teased, grinning and showing her shiny braces. Dipper blushed in embarrassment..

"No, Mabel, I've told you a million times, It's just a simple get-together!" Dipper reminded her, his patience wearing thin as he dumped his now-empty plate into the sink. Dipper raced towards the door, but before he could leave...

"Hey, Dipper, wait up!" Mabel shoved the rest of her sandwich into her mouth, leaving a disappointed Waddles to take a nap under the table.

"What is it, Mabel?" What was his sister getting up to now?

"I'm coming with you." Mabel stated, even though she had never discussed her coming along with her brother.

Dipper shrugged and proceeded to head outside, but he felt a little bit of regret to his saying yes. Sure, Mabel made things more fun and exciting, but at the same time Dipper had moments where he wanted to be in an all-serious mode while he discussed or studied his journal. Oh, well. Mabel was his twin sister, and she would _never_ be out of his life.

The twins headed outside, popped on their bicycle helmets, and began to ride down the street. Instead of taking the route through town, they had to proceed through a different street, one with deeper and fresher colors than the rest. Fancy hedges trimmed the sidewalks, and while Dipper and Mabel rode, they got a vibe that told them to be proper and kind in this neighborhood.

Dipper looked around at all the houses, which were mostly tall white mansions. "Is this really where Starlit lives?" He called to Mabel, who was riding ahead of him because she had the directions taped to her bicycle basket.

Mabel glanced down at the sheet of paper that was flapping in the slight breeze. "Yeah, just a little bit farther down." She confirmed it simply, and acted like she saw the tall, elegant houses around here to be nothing out of the ordinary.

Finally, Mabel motioned for Dipper to stop at the driveway of a beautiful property. The lawn was large and freshly-watered, with rosebushes planted near the hedges that guarded each side of the property except the front. The gray driveway pulled onto the left of the lawn, and a very expensive car sat in it, gleaming in the sunshine. Little stepping stones curved through the grass and towards the door, which boasted a knocker with fancy flowers engraved on it. The porch that extended to the right of the door showed three cushiony chairs under a large canopy, and the porch itself used a thin white fencing as a railing.

The house itself was another story. It was tall, white, and elegantly beautiful. Not a speck or spot of filth ruined the glorious shine the house gave off, and vases of flowers were seen on every inside windowsill, tucked near long curtains, and each vase had exactly the same number of flowers in it; four leaning near the edges, with the biggest and brightest one blooming above the rest.

Mabel and Dipper took a few minutes to stare at the house in awe. When they finally came to their senses, they propped their bikes up in the driveway and walked up on the little stepping stones towards the door. Dipper knocked using the elegant knocker, and while they waited for the door to open, Mabel said, "Well, this is a nice place."

"Thank you, captain obvious." Dipper grinned at his sister, and she giggled and shoved his shoulder. "I didn't know Starlit had such a nice house." Dipper took another step back to admire the abode.

"I know, right? It's all, like..._fancy_!" Mabel and Dipper grinned, but their moment of happiness was interrupted by a squabble coming from inside.

"Starlit, just _wear the dress!" _A woman's voices screeched from the inside.

"_I don't want to_!" Was that Starlit?

Someone stamped their foot.

Dipper and Mabel's eyes widened as they stepped away from the door. Having stepped back before, Dipper actually fell down off the porch steps, and Mabel had forgotten to help him in her shock. Thankfully, he seemed alright.

A moment of silence, and then the door opened. Standing in the doorway was Starlit herself, wearing a nice white silk gown with a flower pattern and a troubled expression on her red face. Her hair was down around her shoulders, and a fake white rose was pinned into her hair.

"Come. In." She said through clenched teeth, which surely was directed as something else. Mabel scurried in, and Dipper did so as well, hoping that Starlit hadn't noticed that he'd fallen.

The interior of the house was even nicer than the outside, but Dipper and Mabel didn't have much time to admire it, as Starlit rushed them up two sets of grand staircases. On the way up, Dipper and Mabel noticed many other girls walking around the house. Most were older than Starlit, but one of them seemed to be in only second grade. All the other young ladies wore expensive-looking finery, and they greeted the trio with quizzical looks.

At last, Dipper and Mabel were rushed into a room that they assumed to be Starlit's. Once the door was locked behind them all, Starlit turned to face them and took the troubled look off her face.

"Look, guys, I'm sorry about that. My mother and I got into a fight, you could probably hear it through the door. She wanted me to wear _this,_" Starlit gestured to the dress with a disgusted tone, although the dress was fairly good-looking on her. "I didn't want to wear it, and we got into a fight." Starlit looked around her room. "We got into a fight about my room, once...she won that time, too."

Dipper looked around the big room, along with Mabel. It boasted a double bed, several framed pictures of dried flowers, a large bookcase full of old books about gardening, a small couch by a large window, and a few old armchairs. This place seemed more like a sitting room than a bedroom, much less _Starlit's_ bedroom.

"Yep. It's pretty frou-frou, but I can deal with it." Starlit plainly announced as Dipper turned to face her.

"You hate it, don't you?" Dipper could conclude this by the poorly-concealed look of disgust on her face.

Starlit laughed at this. "Yep. Yep, I do. Hate it with all my heart." She laughed again.

"I'd totally take this room if I could!" Mabel blurted out, spinning in a circle with her arms outstretched. "So...roomy!"

Starlit and Dipper laughed, but the hearty mood was ruined when Starlit walked over to her window and pulled the curtains over, darkening the room.

Starlit seemed to take a deep breath, and she spun around to face the twins.

"Look, guys, I'm about to tell you some really heavy stuff about my fam bam family. You can ask questions whenever you like, but please don't judge me."

Dipper and Mabel both didn't like where Starlit was going with this. Nervousness began to pool in their stomach, but they both nodded, a little shakily.

Starlit seemed pleased with their reaction, so she took a breath and began straightaway.

"My mother and father are both descended from the founders of the Shining Star Gardening Company. They produce manuals about gardening, they sell starter seeds, they do basically everything with gardening. All across the world, people have been buying the Shining Star products, and the whole Shines family became completely and totally infatuated with their business after they became rich and famous. The snobbishness was passed down from family to family, and they all kept the Shines family name for that sake." Starlit paused to brush her hair behind her ear, leaving the twins slightly eager to learn more. "My great-grandparents came up with the idea to name their children after flowers. My grandmother is named Lotus Shines. My mother is names Rose Shines. And then, you've got my sisters. All seven of them are named after flowers." Starlit paused for another moment, almost as if she were still surprised to have seven sisters. "My oldest sister is Rosemary. She's my mother's favorite, and she's at college right now. My second-oldest sister is Violet. She's a senior in High School. The third-oldest and fourth oldest sisters are Petunia and Daisy. They're twins, and they're sophmores in High School. The fifth-oldest is Marigold. She's in eigth grade. The sixth-oldest is Pansy. She's in seventh grade, and she's only a year older than me. Then, there's the only sister that's younger than me. Her name is Primrose, and she's in second grade. We call her Primmie for short, and she's the only sister that respects me." Starlit's voice caught at the end of the sentence, but she continued before either of the twins could ask questions. "After Pansy, my parents had me. They got the bright idea to name me Stalit, so I'd be so closely linked to the family name that I'd have no choice but to carry on the lineage and take over the company." The disgust was easy to hear in Starlit's voice. "Alas, I did not turn out as my mother wanted..." Starlit's tone turned to mock dramaticism, and the tears began to pool in her eyes despite her attempt to conceal them. "...my mom wanted me to be perfect and proper. A prissy girl, like all my sisters. But I became this. So, she treats me like...she treats me like crap." The sudden swear brought everyone back to a little bit of reality.

"So...that's why there's flowers all over your room." Mabel's voice broke the silence with a soft realization.

Starlit nodded and sat down on the edge of her head, burying her face in her hands. "I'm not like anybody wants me to be. I'm always seen as a lump of clay, something that has to be changed. 'Oh, change her, she's not like the rest..." At this, Starlit began to cry.

Mabel and Dipper watched her for a minute, as the tears slid down her inner wrists and into the lapel of her silken gown, slightly staining the mock flowers printed on it.

"Star, it's...it's..." Mabel wasn't sure of what to say, and once again, it was Dipper to the rescue.

He sat down on the edge of the bed beside Starlit, and actually put his arm around her. She didn't seem to notice as the tears kept slipping down.

"You don't have to change to impress anyone, Star. The people who aren't impressed by who you are now...well, they're just blind." Dipper let the words out in a soft puff of breath, and Starlit quietly removed her hands from her wet, red eyes. Placing her head on Dipper's shoulder, she relaxed herself, inside and out. Finally, she had someone who cared.

**Hey, guys. This chapter was more of a fluffy, feel-good chapter. I truly appreciate your support during the last two chapters. I hope you all understand why Dipper was so great at consoling Star; he's so used to thinking that he was the older brother to Mabel, even though she was a few minutes older than him, that he naturally adopted the 'big brother caretaker' attitude and knew exactly what to say in these situations. In my world, anyways. :D Please let me know what you thought about this chapter! P.S I've read your reviews...I'll see what I can do :P**


	4. Author's Note and Sneak Peek!

**Author's Message and Sneak Peek!**

** Hello, everyone! Right off the bat, let me apologize for getting all your hopes up for thinking this was a new chapter. I'm so, so, so, so, so, SO SORRY! I just had to leave this author's message because I've been reading your reviews, and some of you deserve a notice from me, since I've pretty much left you in the dark on some things. So, let's call this a Q and A message, sort of. Here we go!**

I walk to the computer...

Me: "Hm, how about I check the reviews for Stretching the Truth?"

...

Me: "Oh, I have some new ones! Let's see what we've got..."

"_Oh my god this is getting amazing every second! Please continue your fanfic! I love it so much!_"

Me: "Ooh. I better update soon. :D"

"_Cool!_"

Me: "Oh, there's another good one! One more reason to update, then!"

"_When will chapter 4 be up"_

Me: "Ok, maybe I need to write an Author's Message as my next chapter discussing my schedule, so nobody's left in the dark."

"_This is really great! Keep up the good work! It'd be nice if you updated a little more often though cx_"

Me: "Awee! People really like my story! So much love and support...but I really need to get another chapter out. They REALLY want it! :D"

"_Is DipLit OK for a couple name?_"

Me: "Omg! There's already going to be a couple name? Well, time for business to get taken care of..." -Creates poll in Profile-

** Ok, guys, you've seen my reactions, and let me just say; WOW! So much love and support! I had no idea that people would like my story this much. I thought it would always be one of my minor stories with less feedback, but this one actually has more demand for another chapter than my older fanfiction for Adventure Time.**

** Speaking of my Adventure Time Fanfiction...it's called Beings in Need. With Stretching the Truth coming out after Beings in Need, Beings in Need is going to get updated first, then Stretching the Truth, and the cycle restarts. I don't have much time to update; my school is in session, with TONS of homework, and if I ever get time to write, I have the other story to update as well, plus I might be in the mood to write a one-shot for another subject. On top of all that, I'm working on a sequel for my Adventure Time story already, as I plan to release five chapters for it on the official release date, to satisfy the cravings o3o (There will be a long wait between the ending of the first and the beginning of the second, so I need to have lots of material prepared.)**

** As I was saying, I update whenever I'm prepared, feeling well, and in the mood. If I force myself to write, the chapter turns out poor, and I value quality over quantity. You guys would be lucky to get one chapter in a week, or to get a steady schedule at all :P Sorry if I sound mean! Just trying to give you all some detail on update times.**

** Also, one of you guys asked about a couple name, or ship name, for Starlit and Dipper. I've created a voting poll in my profile to choose the official name for the two sweethearts, and the options are StarDip and DipLit. (I personally think that the name DipLit sounds like a Pokemon name XD But that doesn't mean I'm against it!) If It's not there, I'll try to get it up. There may have been a mistake in the updating.**

** I hope I answered most of your questions! Message me any more questions that you may have and I'll message you back an answer. -Hem hem- I promised you guys a sneak peek to the next chapter, so I'll give you all some details on the future of the story.**

** The scenes with Starlit and Dipper will definitely be sweeter and cuter. I'm also planning on having a scene where Starlit meets Wendy, and see how that spins out with Dipper sort-of still having a crush on her, as this story is set in Season One. It will transistion to Season Two eventually, just not anytime soon.**

** I know you guys want Starlit and Dipper to be together. That may happen, that may not. You'll have to find out :P Hope you all enjoyed my author's message!**

**P.S.) Starlit may not be the only option for Dipper's affection...mwahahaha! Keep an eye out for future interests, you never know who it may be...**

** Just remember...put on a show.**

**(That was a clue as to who the new option may be, by the way XD Bye bye!)**


	5. Chapter 5: A Flower Left Behind

Chapter Four

(Or would it be five? Hm...)

A Flower Left Behind

"You guys are seriously the best."

Starlit sat in her fancy rose-embroidered chair by her bedroom window, with her eyes still red from crying. She had a shawl thrown around her shoulders and a cup of hot cocoa in her hands. (Mabel had managed to head downstairs and persuade her mother, saying that it was for herself.)

"It's no problem, Star." Dipper placed his hands in his pockets.

Starlit took a sip of her hot cocoa and rubbed her eyes with her free hand. "I hate for you two to have to see me like this."

Dipper placed himself on Starlit's footstool while Mabel tumbled into the tall armchair beside Starlit.

"Star, d'you think you're feeling better?" Mabel asked softly.

"Yeah." Starlit took a long, slow sip of her cocoa.

"Good, because I want all of us to go to the theater!" Mabel said, so loudly that Starlit spit out her hot cocoa all over her white carpet.

"Ahhh!" Dipper flinched away from the chocolatey spray as Starlit sputtered and cupped her hand to her mouth, bending over the stains on her carpet.

"Are you OK?" Mabel asked, patting Starlit's back. She gave a few coughs, but Starlit seemed mainly focused on the cocoa stain.

"My mom...is going to kill me!" Starlit hurriedly rubbed the droplets as they dried, but to no avail.

"Did something about the theater surprise you or something?" Mabel began to rub the carpet herself, despite Starlit's failed attempts to clean the carpet. Dipper joined his sister, trying to cleanse the white carpet.

"Yeah, yeah..." Starlit wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. "I've just had a bad experience with the theater. Last time I went there with my family, we saw some stupid play about talking flowers, and you could totally tell that they were trying to influence me." Starlit dragged one of her fancy armchairs over the stain. "Hopefully the chair will work in hiding the stain."

Mabel nodded and Dipper looked towards Starlit.

"So...would you be OK with going to see a play anyways?"

Starlit nodded. "So long as it's not about flowers."

"Don't worry, I've already got the play picked out." Mabel's mischievous grin seemed to give Starlit and Dipper a warning.

After telling a grouchy Mrs. Shines where the trio planned on going, they hopped on their bikes towards the Gravity Galls Theatrical Center, and they were there in less than 10 minutes.

"I didn't even know we had a theater here." Dipper said as he dismounted his bike. He, Mabel, and Starlit placed their bikes in the near-empty bike rack and laced their helmet straps around the handlebars.

"So...what play are we seeing?" Starlit leaned on her gleaming white bike and smoothed down her helmet hair, her small hand brushing the white rose hairpin. The mock roses on her dress, with the tears now dried, swayed in the slight breeze.

Dipper soon noticed that he'd been looking at the rose pattern for a strange amount of time. Snapping out of his entrancement, he looked up at Starlit's face.

"Well...the showings today are-" He began

"There's _Plural Feline_, _Spammallitlot_, _Maria Popens, Big Hair Product_, and _Ragses to Richeses_." Mabel interrupted her brother and read off the list of showings without even glancing at the nearby posters. "But we won't be seeing any of those old boring ones. We're going to see..."

Soon, the trio was hurriedly seated in a theater room.

"...ANIMEYE GIRLSES!" Mabel yelled the name of the play, jumping up from her velvety red seat.

"Shh!" Several other observers hushed her, and Dipper pulled his sister back down into her seat beside him.

"Mabel!" Dipper whispered. "We don't want to get kicked out of this place!" Dipper looked around at the theater room. It was a deep red, lavish room filled with rows of red velvet seats on either side. Special observation decks for rich people like Starlit were built up high on the walls of the theater, but Starlit instead was sitting in a regular seat to the left of Dipper. The main entrance way to the room was clouded with harried civilians all in their finest clothing, struggling to find their seats while clutching playbooks. Several people were already seated, but not many, considering that the play hadn't started yet. The lights were still on and the heavy red curtain was pulled over the stage.

Mabel quieted down and started to read a playbook tucked into her seat. Dipper calmly sat in his own posh seat, and went to place his arm on his armrest, when he felt something warm underneath his hand. The thing under his hand wasn't sticky or wet, but soft and smooth, and Dipper debated for a moment whether or not he really wanted to see what he was touching, when the lights began to dim.

Play-goers quickly sat in their seats as the room darkened drastically. After the last onlooker was seated, there was a moment of brief inactivity before the heavy red curtains drew back. An expertly-made backdrop, seeming to be a park in Japan (judging by the pink cherry blossom trees) was placed up against the wall. Calm, soothing Japanese music began to play from speakers, and Dipper felt the whole room relax.

Then, the first actor stepped onstage; a dark-haired girl with flowers in her hair, wearing an extravagant silk _kimono_. Her arms were laced together and her eyes were dreamily shut as she wandered into the center of the set. The beautiful girl stood there in silence for a brief moment.

"There comes a time in everyone's life when they must make an important decision." The girl spoke to the audience with a soothing voice most likely magnified through a hidden speaker. Her eyes remained closed as she continued. "Every person must choose their life's soul mate, who they will be with for the rest of their lives. Any violation of the laws of love is _treason_." At the last word, the girl's voice deepened violently, and she opened her eyes, which turned out to be blood red.

Dipper shuddered at the sight. The piercing red eyes scanned the audience for a moment, before the girl reached inside her _kimono_ and pulled out a long, sharp _katana_. She gave a maniacal laugh as she grabbed the sword with both hands as the music quickened and intensified.

"_Ahahahahahahahaa!_" The girl brandished the sword in the air and shed her _kimono_, revealing tight black tights and a black T-shirt, along with fingerless black gloves and black combat boots. Her hair fell down around her shoulders and shed its frilly accessories. Shrieks were played over the speakers as the girl raised her sword for a strike at the audience.

Then, the next actor stepped out onto the stage. It was another girl, and she seemed to be a combination of many female characters from animes and mangas. She wore a wig of Sailor Moon's hair (complete with the little accessories), and her outfit seemed to be the same one that Dawn wore in the Pokemon anime (A mini dress, which is mostly black with a white undershirt inside a V-shaped neck with a short pink shirt). The girl was also wearing Mikasa's red scarf from Attack on Titan (_Shingeki no Kyojin_) and to top it all off, she was holding a pokeball in her right hand and Sailor Moon's Enternal Tiare in her left hand. The girl was a living anime, and her big brown eyes sparkled with excitement. Dipper was shocked by her bold and loud demeanor, and the strange warm object under Dipper's hand tightened.

"_Objection!_" The girl cried, thrusting her Eternal Tiare towards her enemy, who stepped back in surprise.

"Hey, you stupid fox! You're in my body and you owe me rent!" The heroine cried out.

The enemy's eyes widened in surprise while the heroine threw her head back in laughter. Everyone in the audience was pretty much lost at this point, whispering questions to one another, but our main trio went along with it.

"Enough with this horseplay!" The enemy took out her katanas and growled at the heroine. "We finish this now!"  
"Alright! It's time to go _kowai_ on your face!" The girl hopped up and down as her enemy flashed her katanas in the bright stage lights.

"Pikachu, I choose you!" The heroine threw her Pokeball at the enemy's face, and her head was knocked back. While she stood, dazed, the heroine took this opportunity to make a heart sigh with her hands and hold it over her chest.

"_Negative heart_!" She pointed to her enemy. "_Lock on_!" The girl formed the heart-sign again, and she was met by a round of booing.

"Boo!"

"Let's leave!"

"Get off the stage!"

"She's not even an actress!"

Dipper's senses sharpened at the sudden insults. The stuffy play-goers were standing up in the aisles, booing at the heroine.

The girl stepped down from her confident pose. Her smile fell as she looked frantically around at the audience. Many were booing and hissing, while others were simply leaving the theater.

"W-wait!" She cried. The music stopped playing from over the speakers. "Stop! Please!"

Everyone began to leave, despite the heroine's desperate protests. Something shifted to Dipper's left, and when he turned, he saw two things. One thing he saw was that Starlit was shifting in her seat, preparing to stand up and leave. Another thing he saw was that the 'smooth, warm object' that he had been holding all this time was Starlit's hand.

Quickly, Dipper pulled his hand back as Starlit stood, and Mabel leaned into the aisle to look at her.

"Well?" Starlit gestured to the now almost-empty theater. "Are you guys ready to go?"  
It took Dipper a moment to find his voice. "We can't go!"

Starlit's eyebrows knitted together. "Why not?" She looked up at the stage. "Dip, that girl's a failure. This play will suck with her in it. We should go."

"But...it's so fun and lively!" Mabel's defeated tone was enough to make Dipper retaliate.

"Yeah. Star, this girl needs our help. We can't just leave!" He protested against her suggestions.

The play-room was almost empty now.

Starlit rolled her eyes. "If you insist."

So Starlit, Mabel, and Dipper marched up the empty, red aisle of the theater. Their shoes were soft on the lavish red carpet, and the only sound in the whole room was that of the heroine crying. The trio soon managed to creep up the edge of the stage, and they were unnoticed by the actors.

"It's alright...you were really good." The villain was patting the heroine's shoulder and giving her hugs, trying to reassure her.

The heroine sniffled and tugged off her red scarf. "I knew this would happen all along. Nobody has the same interests as me. Nobody in this town...I should've known they would all hate my work..."

So the heroine wrote the play herself. Hm...

"Excuse me..." Mabel tapped at the stage's floorboards, and the heroine and villain turned to look at Mabel, Starlit, and Dipper. "Are you OK?"

The heroine sniffled and wiped away her tears. "I'm fine." She turned to the villain. "Thanks for your help, Megan, but...we need to clean up now."

"The play was really good." Dipper piped up, while Starlit folded her arms impatiently and remained silent. "Honest."

The girl straightened her spine. "Thank you, but I already know how people feel about my work. They just don't have the same interests as me."

"What are your interests?" Mabel inquired, placing her arms on the stage.

"Anime, cosplay, the Japanese Language, and manga." The heroine shrugged and removed her Sailor Moon wig, revealing dark brown hair that went well with her brown eyes. "It's really unpopular around these parts of Oregon...it's pretty unpopular in the whole state, actually."

"Oh..." Dipper decided not to mention that neither he nor Starlit or Mabel liked the same things she had listed, so he just went along with it.

"Are you _sure_ you don't need any help?" Starlit asked impatiently, tapping her foot on the floor. Why was she being so _rude_?

The main actress turned and gave Starlit a piercing glare with the last of her dignity, narrowing her chocolate brown eyes into slits. Starlit glared back at her.

Mabel, Dipper, and the girl who was supposedly called Megan were caught in a tense moment.

"I'm sure." The heroine maintained her glare at Starlit. "Megan and I can clean it up ourselves, and we don't need the help of someone as...unkind as you are." With this, the main actress turned on her heel and headed backstage, dragging her confused friend along by the wrist.

"Hang on!" Mabel called out. She ran to the sides of the stage as the two actresses retreated backstage. Mabel began to race up the stairs and onto the stage platform, while Dipper stared on at his sister and Starlit glared impatiently.

Mabel made a mad dash for the backstage area, but before she could make it, the heavy red curtains of the stage swished together, blocking her out.

"Hey! Wait!" Mabel tried to pull the curtains apart, but they were much heavier than they looked. "Let me in!" Dipper had known that his sister hated tense moments, but her efforts to end this one were futile; the curtains stayed put.  
"Mabel, come on. Let's go." Starlit broke the half-silence, and with her rude tone, she sounded a bit like Pacifica Northwest.

"Starlit, why are you being so mean?" Dipper turned to yell out at Starlit, much louder than he expected. His sudden outburst echoed in the empty playroom, and Starlit stared back at him with her eyebrows raised.

"She just wanted to show everyone what she'd made, and you were being...well, a jerk!" The last word echoed again, and Mabel turned to stare at the argument.

Starlit looked Dipper in the eyes for a few heavy moments. The theater was dead silent as Starlit was forced into a game of chicken with someone he didn't want to fight with. It seemed like he was forced to stare at Starlit's eyes, and he had just now realized that the irises of her eyes were as icy blue as a frozen lake. Lighter shades of blue expanded outwards from her perfectly rounded, black iris, so her eyes looked similar to a freezing lake in the middle of a snowy field, beginning to thaw, and with a bit of black tar spilled in the middle that formed a centerpiece...

Dipper didn't realize that he was lost in Starlit's eyes until she finally blinked and stepped backwards.

"Oh..erm.." Dipper made small sounds of embarrassment to himself as he felt his cheeks grow warm. Starlit ducked her head downwards to stare at the red carpeting...Dipper couldn't see through the strands of her hair that fell to cover her face, but was she blushing as well?

Suddenly, her head snapped upwards, and she looked Dipper full in the face. She took a quick step closer so that her face was inches apart from Dipper's. A pool of nervousness quickly began to bubble in Dipper's gut as he looked at Starlit's face, which was faintly pink.

Slowly, Starlit began to tilt her head to the side, just a bit. Then, it seemed as if she were leaning in towards Dipper's face, just a bit...were her lips slightly puckered?

A small _whooshing_ sound was made when Starlit took three quick steps backwards, away from Dipper. Her face was red as a tomato, and Dipper was almost paralyzed with shock. Had Starlit just tried to...?

"I-I'm..." Starlit tried to croak out words as she took more steps backwards, and she stumbled as she backed into a chair. "I'm..." All at once, Starlit turned away from Mabel and Dipper and began to sprint as quickly as she could out of the theater, her hair and dress whipping back. Neither of the twins did anything to stop her.

The white rose decoration flew out of Starlit's hair and landed on the floor. Then...she was gone. Just...gone. The door was slammed behind her.

A minute of silence followed her retreat.

"...THAT WAS AKWARD!" Mabel yelled as loudly as she could, and she stamped her foot. Dipper cringed at the noise. "I'M GOING HOME!" Mabel marched off the stage and headed outside, leaving her brother alone in a room with nothing but a mock white rose for company.

**How did you guys like it? Eh? EH? OK, I know it wasn't one of my better chapters, but I did my best. I even gave you guys a little DipLit/StarDip scene. So, tell me, WHAT THE HECK JUST HAPPENED? Why was Starlit so rude, and what was that whole scene thingie with Dipper about? Also, remember that heroine from the play? And that little hint thingie about a possible new love interest for Dipper? "Put on a show" I said...well, the rest is up to your little minds. Mwahahahaa...XD Please rate and review, I love love LOVE reading your feedback. It helps me make the story more interesting for you guys.**

**(PS I know I used a lot of real-world items in this chapter [Like the names of actual animes and items from animes and mangas] but, just so you guys know, this isn't some sort of Alternate Universe thing were the cast of Gravity Falls knows about the things we all enjoy here in the real world. I just used the real-world references to give you guys a clear picture of what the girl was wearing. Hope you understand, bye!)**


End file.
